Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 4 June 2026 (HL683), what plans they have to increase the number of services subject to patients' right to choose, particularly non-consultant led community services.

The Government is committed to strengthening patient choice, through the mechanisms set out to the Noble Lord in the answer to which his question refers.

In terms of the current statutory rights to choice set out in the National Health Service Commissioning Board and Clinical Commissioning Groups Regulations 2012, any future expansion of those legal rights would require a thorough evidence-based assessment to ensure that it would be deliverable within the current system, support safe and high-quality care, and provide meaningful benefits for patients.